Harry Potter Remake
by noone111111
Summary: I am rewriting the entire Harry Potter series. Draco is a good guy. Harry and Ron are in Ravenclaw. It gets more different as it goes along.   All is not well at Hogwarts, and this time, it's not the Philosopher's Stone Voldemort is after. . . Please R
1. Chapter 1: Harry's First Birthday

CHAPTER 1

**Harry's First Birthday**

Lily and James Potter lived together with a secret life in a shadowy corner of Godric's Hollow. This day was a particularly special day for them. It was their son, Harry's, first birthday and Lily and James agreed that they would spend as much time with Harry as they could, because the past few weeks had been really busy for them and they hadn't had much time for Harry. Voldemort had found out who they were and there had been a panic to relocate but luckily all of the Order of the Phoenix had chipped in to help the Potters. They were safe now, and that was something to celebrate too.

The majority of that special morning was spent cleaning up the house and getting it ready for Lily and James' closest friends in the Order, who were coming over for lunch. James spent his time walking around the house and tapping anything that looked dirty with his wand and muttering a small incantation so that the dust would disappear. Lily spent the whole morning in the kitchen, and she hadn't been going for long before a delicious smell began wafting through the rest of the house.

By midday, the house was free of every single speck of dust, and there was a magnificent feast resting on the beautifully set table with the Potters waiting patiently for their guests to arrive. Lily looked stunning in her floral dress and James was trying to look formal with his hair sticking up all over the place. Even Harry, who seemed to have inherited his father's hair's ability to stand up in every possible direction, looked nice in a miniature tuxedo.

They didn't have to wait long, and they knew their guests had arrived even before they rang the doorbell, because an odd, shrill screech started coming from the other side of the door. They opened it and welcomed inside Sirius Black, Alastor Moody, Frank and Alice Longbottom, who held a baby around Harry's age in her arms, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore.

"Sorry about the noise," Alastor grunted. He was the most battle-scarred of all of them, and there seemed not to be a square centimetre of flesh on him that wasn't scarred and he had a leg missing. "I thought I'd get a Sneakoscope for the young'un, seeing as he'll probably be growing up into the Order, but it hasn't shut up since we got together." He held out his hands and in them was a small spherical wrapped package that was glowing from an inner light spinning around very fast. Sneakoscopes are supposed to light up and spin whenever someone untrustworthy was around, but this one seemed to be faulty. "Well, it's the thought that counts!" James said cheerily. "It's good to see you all."

"Lily, you look as beautiful as ever," Remus said, kissing her hand with a smile. He then pulled from his robes a rectangular parcel. "I understand Harry is probably too young to play Exploding Snap, but he can use it when he's old enough and for now I'm sure the bangs will entertain him." He laughed.

Frank and Alice stepped up, Alice trying to keep their son, Neville, under control. "We got a toy wand for Harry, we thought that he could get into the habit of using one, but he won't be able to damage anything or hurt anyone." Lily and James thanked them, and gave the wand to Harry, who immediately started to send harmless, colourful sparks everywhere.

Sirius came up, greeting Lily and James merrily. "I got a toy broomstick, 'cause if he's anything like his father he's bound to be a legend. Doesn't go more than half a metre off the ground, and it's got an Anti-Collision Charm on it, so he can't crash into anything. Pretty useful, eh?"

Peter and Albus both gave Harry assorted candies, ranging from Chocoballs to Sugar Mice. After that they started lunch. Everyone enjoyed it, complimenting Lily heartily on the skilled cooking and exchanging news and stories until finally everyone was full and the sun had sunk into late afternoon. Rather reluctantly, everyone started to leave, but just as Albus started to go, he froze and turned around. "Ah, James. I meant to ask you a favour. Would you mind me borrowing your Invisibility Cloak? I have an experiment I've been meaning to do, and I require your Cloak to do it."

"Of course, Albus," James said. "I'll go fetch it." He turned around and ran up the stairs.

The others were still waiting for Albus outside, but he waved them off. "You go ahead; I'll meet you at headquarters."

They nodded and, as one, turned on their heels and Disapparated. A few seconds later, James came back downstairs holding a shimmering cloak in one hand. He tossed it at Albus, who caught it, thanked him and turned on his heel and Disapparated too.


	2. Chapter 2: The Fall of The Dark Lord

Chapter 2

**The Fall of the Dark Lord**

James and Lily spent most of that evening that evening cleaning up, while Harry zoomed around on his little broom and eating the sweets Peter and Albus had given him (It was a wonder he still had room after all he had eaten at lunch). Before they knew it, night had fallen. They sank into a couch gratefully, watching Harry weaving around the furniture on his broom. "I'll go put Harry to bed," Lily said after a while, heaving herself off the couch and managing to catch Harry as his broom raced around her legs. She took him, squealing happily, up the stairs and was tucking him in as James suddenly gave a panicked shout. "Lily! Don't come down! Take Harry and hide! He's here! Voldemort's here! I'll hold him off as long as I can, but you have to go, okay?"

"James – " Lily's cry was cut off by a loud bang on the door. Then another, louder, and followed by a crash that meant the door had been knocked in. Despite what James had said, Lily could not leave him to fight Voldemort alone. She ran down the stairs. And there was Voldemort, standing in the doorway, snakelike and cold radiating from him. The door was hanging on its hinges, and a few windows were broken. "Lily . . ." James walked over to her, tears shining in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you!" She said determinedly, sounding a lot stronger than she felt. Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks, for she knew what was coming.

Voldemort stepped into the room. Flowers that were still on the table from lunch withered and died. He looked around, and laid his eyes on Lily and James. His eyes lit up with cruel amusement, and gave an unnaturally high laugh. "Ah, look at you cowering in my presence. This is how it should have been all along. A pity we have to waste such talent though . . . you would have made quite a useful Death Eater."

The suggestion stirred a flame within James. "I would rather die a thousand times over than join you!" he bellowed. Voldemort just gave a cold smile.

"Funny you should say that, for, unfortunately, that is exactly what will be happening tonight. But . . . I am only after Harry. Step aside and I may let you join me," he said.

"NEVER!" Lily and James yelled together.

"A pity . . . _Avada Kedavra!" _Voldemort pulled his wand from under his robes and pointed it and Lily and James. There was a huge flash of bright green light and a loud scream that would have touched any soul but Voldemort's, for what was left of his was so torn and twisted that it simply could not be touched. The green light faded, and Lily and James' bodies were sprawled over the floor, their eyes unseeing and their faces frozen in a look of defiance forevermore . . .

Indifferent, Voldemort stepped over their bodies and climbed the stairs. Harry was standing in his cot, no doubt disturbed by the bursts of light and sound. Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry, pulled it back to cast the spell and . . .

Like before, there was a huge flash of green light, and a long scream. But this scream came from Voldemort, and would summon pity from no-one. There was an explosion equal in power to a small bomb, and the house was blasted to the point of no hope of any survivors, and yet there was. Harry still stood in his cot, completely untouched, crying only for fright, and a shadow of a man slithered away like a creature of the night at dawn. . .

Albus Dumbledore was the Headmaster of one of the most well-known schools in all of Europe; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And as he sat in his office he saw in his mind's eye faded but horrible scene. He got up with tears in his eyes. They were tears of joy as well as utter sadness, for although Lily and James were dead, Voldemort was gone as well. The wizarding world was free for the first time in over eleven years. They would be able to re-establish the Ministry of Magic and all would be well again, though Albus knew too well that the Dark Lord was not defeated forever, for as he was not truly alive, he could not truly die.

Professor Dumbledore started walking swiftly across the school grounds, because he knew he had to get to the Potter's house, and a safety spell cast around Hogwarts prevented anyone Apparating or Disapparating within the school grounds. On his way to the front gate, Dumbledore was joined by another teacher; Professor McGonagall. "Where are you going, Albus?" she asked.

"To the Potter's," Dumbledore replied, his pace not slowing.

"But – but you were there only earlier today – what . . . Has – has something happened?" Minerva McGonagall stammered.

"I'm afraid so, Minerva." They had almost reached the edge of the school grounds by now. "Could . . . I come too?" Minerva asked cautiously.

"Of course," Albus replied. They then stepped through the front gate and the two of them promptly Disapparated.

The first thing Albus and Minerva noticed as they touched down in Godric's Hollow was that all of the Order of the Phoenix was already there, and that Rubeus Hagrid – a giant of a man twice as tall as a normal human – was trying his best to keep Alastor away from Sirius. As Albus and Minerva approached, Alastor stopped struggling in Hagrid's grip, but Sirius wasn't done. _"How dare you accuse me of betraying Lily and James!" _he yelled.

"Come now, Sirius," Dumbledore intervened quickly. "Moody's claim is justified. Why don't you just explain it to them?"

"No time. Peter is getting away and I've got to catch him and make him pay for what he's done!" Sirius said furiously. He Disapparated, and it was only then everyone realised that Peter was the only one absent from the Order of the Phoenix. "That good-for-nothing scoundrel!" Alastor growled.

"But how? Sirius is Secret-Keeper; only he could have given away James and Lily's location," Lupin asked.

"Yesterday, James, Lily, Sirius and I got together and decided there was a traitor among us – how else did Voldemort find out about Lily and James? So we changed our Secret-Keeper to Peter," Dumbledore explained. "Where is Harry?" he asked suddenly. Hagrid stepped forward and took a bundle of blankets from one of the many pockets in the moleskin overcoat. Inside was Harry, with a small, lightning-shaped scar in the middle of his forehead. Dumbledore took Harry gently and announced; "Spread the word that Voldemort is gone. Tomorrow will be a day for celebrating. Though we have a terrible loss, this is a joyous moment. Because, finally, we are free once more . . ."


	3. Chapter 3: What to do with Harry?

Chapter 3

**What to do with Harry?**

As Dumbledore predicted, the next day – next few days, in fact – were full of parties and celebrations. By the end of the week most of the Ministry officials had returned to the jobs they'd had before the rise of Voldemort, unless they were dead or had taken Voldemort's side and were in hiding. The wizarding world was slowly but surely recovering. But even a week after Voldemort's defeat parties went well into the night.

Dumbledore didn't celebrate nearly as much as anyone else. He was preoccupied by one thought; what was he going to do with Harry? Dumbledore had been taking care of Harry ever since he had taken him from Hagrid, but he had never had a child before and he knew he wasn't very good at it. And even without the Order he was very busy and Hogwarts was starting soon, no doubt with more students than ever before, now that Voldemort's threat was gone.

Dumbledore couldn't look after Harry, and most of Harry's immediate family had been killed in the war against Voldemort. There was _one _possibility, but Lily's sister and her husband were Muggles and the worst kind; ones that hated wizards and even the mere mention of magic made them red with rage.

Albus had been looking for another alternative, but so far he had had no luck, and he had been sidetracked a few days ago when the _"Daily Prophet" _announced that Sirius was responsible for Lily and James' murder, and had murdered thirteen people with a single curse, including Peter Pettigrew. Despite Dumbledore's best efforts, Sirius was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban.

Albus sighed and closed his book. He simply didn't have time to spare for Harry. It might not have been his first choice, or Harry's, but Harry would have to go live with the Dursley's.

Dumbledore hesitated outside the Dursley's door. He had a letter clutched tightly in his fist. He meant to talk to Vernon and Petunia Dursley in person, but he had written a letter as a last resort. He rang the doorbell. After a few seconds the door opened and Vernon was there, his mouth open to yell at whoever had rang the bell at this hour. He stopped dead, staring open-mouthed at Dumbledore. Then his naturally purple face began to turn even redder. "You! You get out of here! You don't belong here! Go away!" he yelled, shaking a fat finger at Dumbledore. "I'm sorry, but this is urgent. May I come inside?" Dumbledore asked, gesturing at the door.

"No you may_ not _come inside! You have no right to be here! You go or –"

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore interrupted. "But, as I said, this is urgent and I must come inside." Dumbledore gestured again, but this time Vernon was forced against the wall and Dumbledore walked through. Vernon, now speechless with rage, was having a silent fit until he finally recovered enough to speak. "This is trespassing! I'll get you arrested unless you go _right now!_ PETUNIA!" he roared. There were several loud thumps as Petunia ran down the stairs in her nightgown looking panicked. "What's going on? What – oh, no . . ." Petunia suddenly spotted Dumbledore and the panic seemed to leave her immediately. Now she just looked horrified, staring at Dumbledore the same way Vernon had. She pointed an accusing finger at him. "You . . . last time I saw you, you were inviting my sister to that stupid school! How are you going to ruin my life this time?" she shrieked. Dumbledore showed them little Harry in his bundle of blankets. Petunia screamed and collapsed onto the floor. Vernon was too busy glaring at Harry to notice. "We're not taking him! If Lily and James can't look after him it's their fault!" he bellowed.

"Lily and James are _dead_," Dumbledore said calmly. Vernon seemed to deflate before his very eyes. "So, you see, he has nowhere else to go," Dumbledore continued.

"Okay, we'll take him!" Vernon snapped. "But he better not be a . . . a . . ."

"Only time will tell," Dumbledore answered. He gave Harry to Vernon and left.

Harry's next few years at the Dursley's were not pleasant. They forced him to do most of the housework, but they didn't trust him with any sharp or electric tools to make the jobs easier. They treated him like he was some sort of psycho-maniac that might blow into a fit of rage at any moment.

Because he had only been one year old at the time, Harry did not remember anything about his magical heritage or even that there was any magic at all in the world. And despite the house having four bedrooms, Harry had to squeeze himself into the cupboard under the stairs. The Dursley's had a son too. His name was Dudley, and he was as fat as Harry was skinny. Dudley was constantly picking on Harry, and being spoilt by Vernon and Petunia. Harry never got new things; all his clothes were Dudley's old ones that were too small for him, but were still massive on Harry. Harry grew up and the only thing he knew about his parents was that they had died in a car crash, because all talk about Lily and James was forbidden.

It was not until he was seven years old that he finally found out about magic.


	4. Chapter 4: Dobby

Chapter 4

**Dobby**

A few weeks after Harry's seventh birthday Harry was, as usual, outside in the scorching heat tending to the garden while Dudley, Vernon and Petunia were inside the air-conditioned house watching TV.

He was just starting to prune a hedge when suddenly a . . . a _thing_ jumped out from it. Its eyes and ears were huge and its nose was very long. It only came up to about Harry's waist and all it wore was what a grubby pillowcase with holes for its arms, legs and head to fit through. Harry then noticed that its whole body was covered in bruises and bumps.

"Harry Potter!" It cried, bowing so low its nose almost touched the ground. "How long Dobby has awaited seeing you!"

Harry said nothing. He just stared at the thing standing before him. "Um . . . if you don't mind me asking . . . what are you?" he asked. Dobby looked a little shocked. "I am a house-elf, sir. Dobby the house-elf, servant of the McNair family."

"_Servant?" _Harry repeated incredulously.

"Of course, sir. 'Tis a house-elf's role to serve a wizarding family until the day he dies," Dobby said, looking at Harry in an odd way, as though it was obvious that Dobby was a servant to a . . . "A _wizard?"_ Harry asked. "But they don't exist. There's no such thing, is there?"

"Of course, sir!" Dobby exclaimed, making no attempt to hide his shock. "Is you telling Dobby that you know nothing about wizards?" Harry shook his head. "But you is famous, sir! Surely you must know something, anything?" Harry shook his head again. "I'm not famous. In fact, I don't have any friends at all."

"But, sir!" Dobby cried, then stopped and shook his head. His ears flopped around. "I will tell you, sir, but, if you may, out of this heat?" Dobby looked hopefully at Harry. Harry considered. If Vernon and Petunia caught him with this . . . house-elf, he doubted they'd do anything less than explode. But what this elf was saying was mind-blowing, against everything he'd been taught. He knew he'd regret it if he didn't let the elf say what he had to say. "Okay, we'll go to my room . . . cupboard. But you'll have to be quiet, okay?" Harry said.

"Oh, Dobby can do better than that, sir! Dobby will meet you there!" and with a loud crack he was gone. Harry blinked, wondering what the house-elf had just done, then put down the pliers and went into the house. "Have you finished? Wipe your feet," Petunia said the moment Harry stepped inside the house. "Yeah," Harry lied, and moved quickly past the living room and into the hallway before Petunia or Vernon could make him do anything else. He opened the door to find Dobby already sitting on his bed waiting for him. "Sit, Harry Potter, sir. If you know as little as Dobby believes, then there is a lot to tell!" Dobby seemed delighted by the opportunity. Harry squeezed into the cupboard and shut the door behind him.

Harry learned a lot in a small amount of time. He learnt that he was famous among the wizarding world for defeating the "Dark Lord" (Dobby refused to tell Harry his real name) when he came to his house and killed his parents on Harry's first birthday. Dobby spoke on, his voice only punctured occasionally by Harry asking a question, until night when Vernon knocked on the cupboard door and asked Harry to get dinner ready. Harry looked nervously at Dobby, knowing that if he opened the door and Vernon was still there he would see Dobby and Harry would get into a whole lot of trouble. Dobby nodded to show he understood, and with a sharp crack he disappeared. "What was that?" Vernon growled.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly. "I was just sleeping. You woke me up and I hit my head." Harry crossed his fingers and hoped with all his might that Vernon would accept his excuse. "You better not have broken anything," Vernon said after a while. "I'm not paying to fix it." Relieved, Harry got up and opened the door, squeezed past Vernon to start cooking.

The next day the Dursley's went shopping, and because they didn't trust Harry to be left alone in the house so they had dropped him off at Ms Figg's house. Ms Figg was a big fan of cats. She owned about five and had owned about a hundred throughout her life. Visiting Ms Figg was always an extremely dull experience, but Harry was not even there ten minutes when Dobby suddenly appeared with a loud crack. He looked the same as yesterday, except that now he sported a large, dark purple bruise across his left eye. "Dobby!" Harry cried, both happy and shocked to see him. "You can't be here! Ms Figg will see you."

"Ms Figg knows about Dobby, sir," Dobby replied. "Ms Figg is a Squib. She knows about magic, but she has no magical powers of her own, sir. Dobby visits her sometimes." At this point, Ms Figg walked in from the kitchen. She stopped and stared at Dobby. For a few seconds Harry thought that Dobby had been wrong and that any moment now Mr Figg would call the police and he would be arrested and Dobby would be tranquilized and taken to a lab for testing. These were crazy thoughts, but they crossed Harry's mind fleetingly. Then Ms Figg; "Dobby! You can't be here! How am I going to explain this to Harry? _He's not supposed to know!" _she yelled. She quickly crossed the room, looking from Harry to Dobby and back again. "Harry already knows, ma'am. Dobby didn't know he wasn't allowed. Dobby told it all to him yesterday," Dobby explained. "How'd you get your black eye?" Harry asked, wanting to change the subject. Dobby gave a sad smile. "Master wasn't too happy that Dobby had been gone so long. He made Dobby punish himself, sir . . . but he forgot to forbid against doing it again! So here I am!" he said.

"You shouldn't have told him!" Ms Figg continued. "We were only supposed to tell him when he was old enough to handle it."

All of a sudden, Dobby burst into tears, grabbed the TV remote and started hitting himself with it. "Dobby is a fool!" he howled. "Why doesn't he just do what he's told?"

"Dobby! What are you doing? Are you okay?" Harry tried his best to soothe the poor elf, and to wrestle the remote from his hands. Finally, Dobby stopped and Harry sat down on the couch, exhausted. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"Sorry, sir, but one of Master's orders is for Dobby to punish himself even if it is not one of the Master's rules that Dobby breaks," said Dobby, rubbing a bump that was forming where he had hit himself. Ms Figg walked out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a small tube of cream which she began to spread over Dobby's injury. "Its okay, Dobby," she sighed. "I'm sure it will be alright." Dobby nodded and thanked her once Ms Figg had finished smearing the cream. Now that everything was settled, Dobby continued to explain the wonders of the magical world and Harry had to admit that this was easily the best visit he had ever had at Ms Figg's, though it certainly didn't turn out the way he had expected.


	5. Chapter 5: Dudley's Birthday

Chapter 5

Dudley's Birthday

Dobby visited often over the next three years, even after he had told Harry all that he could about the world hidden from Muggle eyes by illusions and enchantments. Living a life where nobody liked him and everyday he had to run for his life from Dudley and his gang was certainly not very pleasant and Dobby's life was just as downtrodden, if not more.

At least once a week Dobby would visit Harry and it would be all that kept Harry going. That and the thought that, very soon now, he would turn eleven and get the letter inviting him to Hogwarts that Dobby said would inevitably come. Meanwhile, Harry would have to endure three more weeks of the Dursley's until then, and even after that it would be another two months until school actually started. And Dudley was turning eleven tomorrow, and that meant he would be dumped at Ms Figg's place while Dudley and one of his friends went to some really fun place and have a great time.,

Despite finding out that Ms Figg had magical relations, her personality was still the same so the visits were usually just as dull as before, except that sometimes Dobby would come with him.

The dreaded morning of Dudley's birthday dawned, and immediately Harry was woken up by Petunia knocking on the cupboard door and screeching his name. Groggily, Harry got up and put on his glasses. He opened the door and almost got his arm wrenched out of its socket as Petunia yanked him out of the cupboard. "Hurry up," she snapped angrily. "You need to cook breakfast. Don't you dare stuff anything up. This is Dudley's _eleventh_ birthday –"

"I know that,"

"- and I don't want you making a mess of it. Go!"

So in his pyjamas Harry wondered into the kitchen to cook breakfast, grumbling that just as big a deal was made with all of Dudley's other birthdays, and that he himself would never get the same treatment. About half an hour later Dudley walked into the living room, examining his presents with a sort of bored satisfaction. Vernon and Petunia, who were sitting on the only bit of floor in the living room that was not taken up by Dudley's presents, beamed at him. "How d'ya like it, Dudley?" Vernon asked. Dudley was busy concentrating on counting his presents, so he didn't hear Vernon's question. Then suddenly his face turned red remarkably similar to the way Vernon's did when he got angry. "There's not enough!" he yelled. "I got more last year, it's not fair!" he continued. If he got any redder Harry thought he would make the world's best tomato impression. "Its okay, Duddikins!" Petunia cried, waving her hands quickly. "We'll get you more presents when we go out, okay?" Harry decided that now would be a good time to bring out the food, because that almost always managed to calm Dudley down. He piled the eggs, bacon, French toast and baked beans onto four separate plates and brought them into the living room and cleared room for them on the table.

After they had finished breakfast the phone rang and Harry ran to get it. "Hello?" he asked.

"Good morning, Mr Potter."  
"Ms Figg! What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid Dobby has convinced me to skip our meeting today. He has also convinced me to spread the rumour that, unfortunately, I have broken my leg so I won't to be able to look after you. Be sure to tell your Aunt and Uncle. Goodbye." The line went dead. Harry didn't move for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was going on. Warmth suddenly spread through his chest and he felt a burst of appreciation for Dobby. His day was sure to turn out better now he didn't have to spend the whole day at Ms Figg's. He walked back into the living room, trying in vain to hide his excitement. "Ms Figg's broken her leg; she won't be able to look after me," Harry explained when Vernon and Petunia gave him questioning looks. Vernon frowned and thought for a few minutes. "We don't really have any choice," he said after a while. "Not leaving him here; he'll have to come with us," he sighed. Dudley looked crestfallen.

"But . . . but . . ." he stammered.

"Come on," Vernon said, pushing Harry roughly, as though it was his fault Ms Figg had "broken" her leg. They piled into the car and went to get Dudley's friend, whose Harry couldn't even remember.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the zoo. Harry was pushed out by Dudley's friend as soon as the door opened. All five of them entered the zoo and Dudley and his friend immediately demanded something to eat. Very soon Dudley had grown tired of the zoo, and just wondered around with a bored expression on his face, glancing at every animal as they passed it. By the time they got to the Reptile House he had returned to his normal self and had found that picking on Harry was much more fun than looking at animals lying about. Harry had just discovered a very odd snake that could speak fluent English (It was actually him that could speak fluent snake) and was having a very interesting conversation it when Dudley walked up and pushed him aside. "Made a new friend, have you?" he snarled angrily. "Can't make any human friends so you're trying your luck on a snake?" Harry clenched his fists in anger. "Hate to break it to you, but snakes can't talk; you'll just have to go on being a loner, sorry." Dudley laughed uproariously. "Is Harry Potter having any trouble?" a voice asked from behind Harry. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. Then he recognised the voice. "_Dobby?" _Harry asked in an incredulous whisper. He looked behind him but couldn't see anything. "Where are you?"

"Dobby is right here, sir, but you can't see me. Dobby wishes to help, sir." Harry felt a cold hand on his leg. He squinted toward that general area, but still couldn't see anything that resembled Dobby. There was loud crack, which Harry now knew meant Dobby had just used magic. He looked around nervously, because whenever Dobby "helped" him, he usually just made things a whole lot worse. Then he noticed something that made his blood run cold. The snake he had been talking to a few minutes ago was slithering out of its enclosure, because the glass wall that blocked it from the public was gone. Dudley was backing away, his eyes on the snake and his face full of pure horror. He turned and ran toward his parents and his friend. "Snake!" he screamed. "Harry set a snake on me!" Harry, who knew he had done no such thing, gave a cry of protest, but knew that nothing he did would be of any help. Everyone else seemed preoccupied on more pressing matters, however; namely, a huge snake a couple of metres long was now making its way along the floor towards the exit. It seemed everyone was screaming and running toward the exit. He suddenly felt a large hand grasp the front of his shirt, and he was dragged out of the Reptile House and all the way to the car. He was shoved in and Dudley and his friend followed. The whole way home was taken up by Vernon shouting at Harry at the top of his lungs. When they got home Harry's ears were ringing, but Vernon wasn't finished yet. As Dudley scampered upstairs to his room Vernon continued to yell at him for another ten minutes until he finally threw Harry into his cupboard. There was a loud thud as Harry hit his head on the wall and the rest of his body followed him. The door was slammed behind him and Vernon had one final thing to stay. "You stay in there, and you're never coming out!"


	6. Chapter 6: Mysterious Mail

Chapter 6

**Mysterious Mail**

That night Harry was woken by a loud crack and by Dobby, as well as a large amount of food, landing at the foot of his bed. The moment he landed, Dobby burst into noisy tears. "Dobby had no idea this would happen, sir! Dobby only meant to help Harry Potter!" he said between sobs.

"Shh!" Harry hissed hurriedly. "Its okay, Dobby, but you need to be _quiet!"_ Dobby gave a loud sniff and hugged Harry round his middle, still muttering apologies.

Trying to make Dobby feel better, Harry told him how grateful he was for the food Dobby had brought. Harry was actually very hungry, because he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He ate as much of Dobby's food as he could and hid the rest under his bed, as Dobby explained that there was so much food in the McNair's cupboard that he doubted that the food Dobby had brought Harry would be missed.

"But Dobby would deserve it if Master found out . . ." Dobby mumbled.

Though Harry was angry with him, he could not bring himself to agree. After all these years Harry had become good friends with Dobby, and would never wish harm on him; and from what he had heard of the McNair family, he could easily guess how badly they would punish Dobby if they found out Dobby had been stealing from them. Harry gave Dobby a comforting pat and wished him goodnight.

Dobby gave Harry a toothy grin and, with the promise of more food soon, Disapparated.

Harry was confined t o his cupboard for ages and he was certain that if Dobby hadn't frequently brought him food, Vernon would have finally opened the cupboard door to find him dead or dying of starvation (Harry was also just as certain that this was what Vernon was hoping to find, though it certainly wouldn't have been good for his and Petunia's reputation if a neighbour had found out they had been keeping a skeleton in their cupboard).

His birthday had been a week ago and he had been pulled out of his cupboard only to be yelled at some more. It was only after he convinced Vernon that he could not possibly have done anything wrong because he'd been locked in his cupboard for over a month that Vernon actually told him what he was supposed to have done.

Vernon waved an envelope in Harry's face. "What's this?" he asked. "All of a sudden they've been turning up all over the place. _Who have you been talking to?"_

"No-one! I haven't done anything! You haven't let me out of my cupboard for ages _remember?"_ Harry explained exasperatedly. "Can I see my letter?" he added.

"NO!" Vernon yelled unexpectedly.

"Why not?" Harry asked, feeling this was extremely unfair. Vernon started ripping the letter into lots of little pieces. "Because you can't!" Vernon said nastily. He stuffed the bits of paper into the garbage can and told Harry he could have something to eat before cleaning up the house.

With a sigh, Harry did as he was told.

The next day, Harry was woken up by a loud noise. For a second, Harry expected to see Dobby appearing sat the foot of his bed, but knew it was the wrong kind of noise. He opened his door and saw Vernon at the front door with a power drill, covering the mail flap with a small plank of wood. Harry went to the kitchen, wondering just how far Vernon was going to go to rid the house of Harry's mysterious letters. He opened the fridge and several letters fell out. Harry quickly looked over his shoulder and picked up one of the letters and checked the address.

_Harry J Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging _

_Surrey_

Intrigued, Harry started picking at the wax seal to open it.

"DAD! HARRY'S OPENING ONE OF THOSE LETTERS!"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around and there was Dudley, grinning mischievously as Vernon charged into the room, wrenched the half-opened envelope from Harry's hands, picked the rest up from off t he floor and shoved them all down the garbage disposal. The growling sound of the letters being pulverised and shredded filled the kitchen. Vernon smirked triumphantly at Harry's disappointed expression. Then he frowned.

"Blasted letters!" he muttered to himself. "What are you lookin' at?" he snapped at Harry. "Get to work!"

"It's not _my _fault someone's sending me letters! Why are you punishing _me?_" Harry asked angrily. Vernon purpled threateningly and Harry knew that Vernon was not in the mood for whining. He decided to work out in the front garden so that he might be able to read a letter without Vernon noticing. Unfortunately, Vernon saw through Harry's plan. "Oh, no you don't'!" Vernon yelled as Harry made for the front door. "You can dust in the living room where I can see you."  
"Can I use the vacuum cleaner?"

"No," Vernon said briskly. Harry knew he would. Harry skipped breakfast and got the feather duster out of the laundry cupboard. _This isn't so bad, _Harry thought. _At least I have an excuse to watch TV._

Harry was just absent-mindedly dusting the back of Vernon's head (he was too busy watching TV to notice and so was Vernon) when the room started to shake slightly. Vernon jumped to his feet and glared at Harry accusingly. The shaking became a little more violent and Vernon became more preoccupied with keeping his feet than blaming Harry for the earthquake. After a few seconds the shaking stopped.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked, barely getting the words out before a loud rumble drowned out Vernon's yells as hundreds upon hundreds of letters flooded the house. They came from every possible place from the crack underneath the door to the air-conditioner. Screaming came from upstairs which told them that Petunia and Dudley were also experiencing this bizarre storm aswell.

With a nervous look at Vernon, who was making his way to Harry through the flow of letters, Harry hid a letter underneath his shirt. It was soon lost within the many folds and bags of the shirt. The mass of letters subsided and Harry waded through the ankle-deep layer of letters and got into his cupboard as quickly as he could so he could read his letter in peace. With privacy at last, Harry was free to open his letter.

His heart beating hard and fast, Harry broke the wax seal on the envelope and took out the paper inside . . .


	7. Chapter 7: The Letter

*The following chapter includes sections copied directly from the book. I do not in any way own Harry Potter. You can now continue reading this outstandingly unique story.*

Chapter 7

The Letter

There were two pieces of paper enclosed. Harry looked at the first one.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc, Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on the 1st of December. We await your owl by no further than the 31st of July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

A wide grin spread across Harry's face. He was going! He was going to leave the Dursley's and live the life of his dreams as a wizard. Harry felt wonderful. He opened the cupboard with a huge feeling of elation that couldn't be dampened even as he saw Vernon gathering up all the letters and throwing them into a garbage bag.

BOOM!

For the second time that day, Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around to face the front door, where the noise had come from. Vernon charged past him to open the door, no doubt to scold whoever had knocked on the door so hard. He was about to open the door when there was a second loud BOOM that knocked the door from its hinges, and sent Vernon flying. Harry quickly backed away from the huge silhouette that blocked the doorway, not wanting to be too close to someone that had managed to break a door down whilst simply trying to knock.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Vernon yelled at the stranger, having recovered from his brief flight. "You can't just burst in here, and you damn can't break down the door! I expect you to be paying for the damage!"

The giant man walked inside and his sheer bulk seemed to get to Vernon, who cowered and said nothing as the visitor lifted the door and lent it against the wall. "Hi, Harry. I haven' seen you since you was a baby. I don't s'pose you remember me."

Harry, who was quite bewildered that this person seemed to know him, and was thinking that he would certainly have remembered if he'd seen him before, wasn't at all sure what to do and so nervously shook the man's offered hand. "Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts," the man announced proudly.

"What business do you have here?" Vernon demanded.

"I'm here to make sure that Harry gets his letter and to explain a few things to him," Hagrid said, turning to face Harry and knocking a painting down in the process, though he didn't seem to notice.

"I bloody well hope not! I forbid you; Harry, get in your cupboard and stay there!"

"It doesn't matter. I already know everything. Are you a wizard!" Harry asked Hagrid. Hagrid looked shocked; he obviously hadn't anticipated this.

"But . . . you're not s'posed to know! That was the whole reason for me coming! Do you know . . . everything? Is there anything you want to know?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know where or how I'll get my school stuff, especially without any money," Harry said. Hagrid immediately brightened, as though glad his visit wasn't a complete waste.

"Tha's okay; I meant to take you to Diagon Alley anyway. You don't mind if I take him" Hagrid converted his attention to Vernon. Vernon swelled, looking as though he _did_ mind, very much so, but wasn't about to get on this man's bad side. He took a deep breath, and nodded. Hagrid grinned and took Harry's arm and led him out the door. "I'm afraid I'm not . . . _officially _a wizard; I got expelled at school. So we'll have to get to London the Muggle way. I 'ave some Muggle money, but I don' know how it works; I don't s'pose you . . ."

"Sure," Harry knew that walking away with a stranger was probably not the best thing to do, but Harry couldn't help bu8t trust Hagrid. The journey to London took about 2 hours and three buses. Harry felt quite tired by the time they reached the Leaky Cauldron, but was looking forward to see Diagon Alley which, Hagrid told him, was through a secret passage in the Leaky Cauldron.

They stepped into a small courtyard after struggling through a large crowd who had wanted to get a close look at Harry. Hagrid took a large umbrella from a pocket in his coat and used it to tap a few bricks on the far wall. Almost immediately the bricks started to move and soon had become an archway. Beyond it was a long lane full of some of the strangest shops Harry had ever seen, such as Eeylops Owl Emporium and Quality Quidditch Supplies. Slightly boggled, Harry looked around. "We'll have to go to Gringotts first, to get your money out of your vault," Hagrid explained. Harry nodded, his heart pounding with excitement for the umpteenth time today. Hagrid lead the way as they entered the huge marble doors of Gringotts . . .


	8. Chapter 8: Draco Malfoy

Authors Note: I apologise for the absolutely huge wait for this chapter, but I have been extremely busy with homework and assessments and assignments. Also SOMEBODY sabotaged some of my work (*cough, MAURESCA, cough*), so if you want to blame someone, blame her.

Also, it really motivates me if you right some reviews. It makes me feel more confident about what I'm writing and makes me want to write more. Also, that same somebody and I are having a competition to see who can get the most reviews. You don't want her to win, do you?

Chapter 8

Draco Malfoy

Gringotts was full of goblins. Harry recognised them from the description Dobby had given him and they intimidated him slightly. He wasn't sure why goblins would work at a bank instead of people, but didn't inquire about it. He and Hagrid walked up to one of the desks that a goblin was attending and it looked up expectantly. "Harry Potter wants to withdraw some money from his vault," Hagrid said. The goblin nodded and continued to look as if it were waiting for something. "Oh, right," Hagrid said after a while and started rummaging about in his pockets until he eventually pulled out a small golden key. The goblin took the key and inspected it. "Okay then,"  
it said, it's voice low and harsh. It turned around in its chair and beckoned to another goblin. "This is Griphook," the goblin said. "He will take you to your vault."

"Before we go, Dumbledore told me to give this to you. It's about _you-know-what_," Hagrid said, dropping his last words to a whisper. The goblin nodded again and read the letter. After finishing it he gave it to Griphook, who had just arrived at the desk. He read it as well then started to walk off, waving at Harry and Hagrid to follow him. "Let's go," he said in that same gravelly voice. They were lead through several doors until they came to a large cavern that stretched out of view in both directions. Railway tracks ran along it, leading to a multitude of different tunnels. Griphook whistled and, to Harry's amazement, a cart came shooting along the tracks to stop before them. Harry, Hagrid and Griphook climbed in and the cart went shooting off again.

It took about ten minutes of sharp turns and massive speed to reach Harry's vault. The goblin walked forward and put the key in the slot and the door swung open. Gold shone from within and Harry's eyes widened. "Woah!" he exclaimed. Piles of money sat there, more than Harry could ever have dreamed of, as even a nickel made Harry feel rich. Feeling somehow nervous, he walked in and took some money and walked back out again, the overwhelming heap of money didn't seem to have decreased in size at all as Harry was once again swept away in the cart toward the vault that contained Hagrid's secret business. It didn't take as long this time. They stopped at vault number 713 and they got out. Before they did, Hagrid whispered into Harry's ear. "I'd like it if you didn't tell anyone about what you're about to see."

Harry immediately began to imagine all sorts of dangerous magical objects, but when the door was opened all that was there was, in the very middle of the room, a small rectangular object, wrapped in grubby newspaper. Harry was slightly baffled, because there seemed to be nothing extraordinary about it. Hagrid quickly entered the vault and slipped the package into his coat. They got back into the cart and were soon back in the main building of Gringotts.

Harry now had a wallet full of money, far more than he had ever had in his life, and he was eager to start spending it.

His first stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions, where he met the first wizard his age. He had blonde hair, pale skin and pronounced cheekbones.

"Hello," the boy said carelessly, as he saw Harry enter. A woman was at the moment measuring the circumference of his head, so he was temporarily blocked from view as the woman bent over him.

"Hi," Harry replied. As he said this, another woman approached him.

"Hogwarts?" she asked. Harry nodded, distracted by a measuring tape whizzing about the room. The staff member gestured to another staff member, who promptly took out her wand and pointed it to the measuring tape and then pointed to Harry. The measuring tape started towards Harry and began measuring every possible part of him, the woman writing them down at incredible speeds.

"I'm going to Hogwarts too," the boy said, by way of conversation. "My father says that it's a privilege to go there, so he'll take me away if I don't behave well enough. Hopefully I should be okay, though."

At that moment someone came through the door. The room's mood seemed to change instantly. The very air of the man seemed to show how cold he was, how he felt himself superior to everyone in the room, including his son . . .

He approached the blonde boy now. "Haven't you finished yet? God, these people are inefficient," he said, seemingly oblivious to the many glares the staff gave him.

"We're done now," said the woman who was measuring the boy. She waved her wand and some black materials flew from a rack and started sewing itself together. "For three, that's two gold galleons and six silver sickles." she continued, obviously wanting to get him to leave quickly.

The man clicked his tongue, but didn't voice his thoughts. He thrust the money into the woman's waiting hand then gestured to his son and turned to leave. Before the boy followed him, he turned to Harry. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he said. "Please come find me on the train later. Maybe we can be friends?" Draco gave Harry a modest smile, then hurried to catch up with his father.


	9. Chapter 9: Dobby's Farewell

Chapter 9

Dobby's Farewell

Harry bought the rest of his things without incident, besides being amazed and awed at every single thing he saw. But what was most amazing for him was the pet shop; _Magical Menagerie._ It had an incredible range of wonderful creatures, most of which Harry had never seen before. His eye was particularly drawn to a corner where the animals changed into different ones; a crow that turned into a black kitten, a snowy owl that transformed into a Dalmatian puppy, a parrot that turned into a very colourful snake, and many others. Hagrid hardly fit into the shop, as it was lined with cages and there was only a small amount of room for normal-sized people to walk around, but Hagrid had offered to buy Harry a pet, so he squeezed in anyway (much to the disgruntlement of the staff).

After a while of looking around, Harry decided to get one of the Metamorphing creatures. He chose a beautiful great grey owl that transformed into an odd creature that looked something like a miniature undead horse with bat wings. Hagrid explained that it was a hybrid of something called a Threstral, bred to be smaller, friendlier and more visible than a purebred one (he didn't bother explaining that last remark, leaving Harry somewhat confused).

When they had gotten everything, Hagrid dropped him off at his house, gave him an envelope and bade him farewell.

Vernon glared at him after Hagrid left with a mixture of anger and fear. Dudley actually ran from the room. Not wanting to bother with them, Harry just went straight into his cupboard, turning his light on so he could see what was in the envelope.

However, Harry was disappointed to see that all that was inside was a train ticket and a scrawled note saying that the train would leave from platform Nine and Three Quarters, on the first of September, at eleven o' clock. That was a week's time.

Harry couldn't wait.

That night, in Harry's cupboard, Dobby visited him, beaming happily.

"Dobby heard the good news, sir!" he cried, fondling the Threstral/owl absently. He looked at it with shining eyes. It was in owl form at the moment, and it cooed happily. "Such a beautiful bird."

"Its name is Silver," Harry said. "But when it transforms . . ." Silver transformed into a Threstral helpfully, "It becomes Dusk."

Dobby gave a small cry of delight and continued patting it.

"Dobby came to tell Harry," Dobby said, turning his attention to Harry, "That Dobby won't be able to see Harry Potter during his school time, sir."

"What?" Harry cried forlornly.

"No-one can Apparate in Hogwarts, and Dobby would be unable to sneak all the way to a Common Room."

"Oh, okay . . ." Harry was heartbroken. Dobby was his only friend, and suddenly Hogwarts didn't seem as fun now that Harry knew he would be going there alone.

But then he remembered the boy he had met in Diagon Alley, and felt a little better. "Okay," he said, with a little more confidence. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble over me."

Dobby smiled sadly. "Dobby is glad Harry understands," he said. "When is he leaving for Hogwarts?"

Harry told him and Dobby Disapparated, after promising that he would visit before then.

The week flew by for Harry, he was so excited. After a surprisingly short amount of time, it was the day before he had to go to Hogwarts. It was only then Harry realised that come tomorrow he would have no way to reach Kings Cross Station, for walking was out of the question. It seemed the only solution to the problem was to ask Vernon to drive him there. Steeling his courage, Harry walked into the kitchen.

"Uhh . . . Uncle Vernon?" Harry started, uncertainly. Vernon jumped and turned around.

"Do _not _sneak up on people!" he growled.

"Sorry, but I was wondering if you could take me up to Kings Cross tomorrow morning."

Vernon narrowed his eyes, as if he thought Harry might be up to something. "What for?" he asked.

"Well, you know, to get to my, umm, school." Harry muttered cautiously. Vernon glared at him for a few seconds then gave in.

"Fine then," he replied.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, then retreated back to his cupboard, to find Dobby waiting.

"Dobby hasn't much time, sir," he said hastily. "Master was quicker going out than Dobby thought. Dobby just wanted to say good luck, and goodbye to Harry Potter."

"Thankyou, Dobby," Harry said, his heart aching slightly. It seemed odd that this weird-looking creature was Harry's only friend, but it fitted somehow; they were both pariahs in their households. And it hurt, the knowledge that he would not see Dobby again, not for almost a year.

"I . . . I'll miss you . . ." Harry muttered. He was not ashamed to say it.

"And Dobby too, Harry Potter. Do good."

And with that he left.

_The next day. . ._

Harry was out of bed the moment he woke, and started to pack his things. After a few minutes his vigour faded, as he remembered Dobby's farewell. But once again he conjured in his mind the image of Draco, who seemed to want a sure friend at this new school as much as he did. He finished packing his things, and entered the kitchen for breakfast. Unsurprisingly, nobody was up yet, for Harry, in his excitement, had gotten up even before the sun. He finished his meal and started walking around aimlessly before deciding to find something better to do.

He opened the door to his cupboard, and called Silver over. With a flap of her wings, she landed on Harry's arm. Harry ran his hand through Silver's feathers, and in return she nibbled his ear in return. Harry fed her an Owl Treat (a biscuit shaped like a mouse that he had bought a packet of in _Magical Menagerie_). He played with her for a while, and tried to train her to transform into an owl or a Threstral whenever their respective names were called. From the looks of things, Silver/Dusk was quite smart because it didn't long for her to catch on.

By then it was time to go. Vernon grumbled the whole way there, but Harry hardly noticed. He was buzzing with excitement again, telling himself that although he was leaving one friend behind, he now had the opportunity to make many more.


	10. Chapter 10: The Journey Home

Chapter 10

The Journey Home

It was half past ten by the time they got to Kings Cross, and the station was very crowded. Harry got Silver and his suitcase out of the car and Vernon walked with him up to platform Nine.

"So, uh, we'll pick up at the end of school, yeah?" Vernon snickered. And with that he walked off. It was at that moment that Harry felt his first flash of panic. He looked around. Platform Ten was a few metres away, but Harry could not see the smallest sign that platform Nine and Three Quarters was anywhere near. People were starting to stare at Silver; it wasn't everyday that someone walked around with a pet owl. It was now ten forty. Harry was starting to panic even more now; what if he couldn't find it, and missed the train? Would he have to walk all the way back to Privet Drive? Harry had very little money with him; he didn't think he'd be able to make it.

Harry was starting to have a silent panic attack when he saw something that made him give a great sigh of relief. Another owl!

Not far away, a group of people had just walked onto the station, and one of them was carrying an owl. Harry moved closer.

There was only one adult; a plump red haired woman hurrying the rest of them along. _In fact,_ Harry thought as he moved closer, _I think they all have red hair. _He could now hear what they were saying.

"Now, Fred, no tricks. Its Ron's first time and I don't need you feeding him ridiculous stories and make him worry himself sick. Wrestling a troll, _honestly! _Don't be stupid._" _

Harry was now fully certain that this family were wizards, and proceeded to follow them. Soon they came across a ticket barrier and the red-haired family stopped, and their mother addressed the eldest. "You ready, Percy?" she asked. Percy nodded and walked toward the ticket barrier and then . . . _vanished._ Just, one instant he was there, and the next he wasn't. Harry blinked, and moved a little closer, trying not to make it too obvious he was watching them.

Now two brothers, who looked so alike they could only be twins, were talking. "Hold up," said one. "I'm not sure I remember how to do it."

"Oh, Fred. Stop playing dumb. Hurry up; you'll miss the train."

"Actually," said the other twin. "_I'm _Fred, and I don't appreciate being called dumb when I've done nothing stupid for at least five minutes. _Five!"_

The mother rolled her eyes, and hurried them on. They both moved quickly forward, and suddenly they disappeared. Harry frowned. At the moment it seemed that the only option was to copy what they did and hoped it worked. But Harry wasn't too keen on doing that; the most likely scenario for that would be that it didn't work and he crashed into the ticket barrier, attracting many unwelcome stares. Harry sighed; he had no choice. He walked up to the woman and asked her, "Hi, sorry, but could you help me? I don't know how to-to, umm . . ." Harry suddenly wasn't even sure if this _did _lead to platform Nine and Three Quarters; it might lead to some secret toilet or something.

"How to get up to the platform?" the woman finished helpfully. Harry nodded gratefully. "Oh, don't worry dear; all you need to do is walk towards the ticket barrier and you'll end up on the platform. Easy as pie, don't worry. Here, Ron'll go first and show you." She gestured toward the last boy, the youngest. Ron nodded and walked toward the barrier and, sure enough, he disappeared too. Now all that was left was Harry, the mother, and her daughter who seemed to be the youngest of all of them.

"Okay," Harry said. "Thankyou." He started in the direction of the barrier; he was getting closer and closer. Nothing was happening! Harry screwed his eyes shut and braced himself for the crash . . .

But it didn't come. He continued on and he opened his eyes to see a new platform. It was even more crowded than the last one, and there was a large maroon-and-black steam train in port. Harry looked around and sure enough; there was a large sign saying "Platform Nine and Three Quarters" over to the side. And as he looked, he noticed a familiar platinum-blonde head. _Malfoy, _he thought, making towards him, but he had hardly taken a step when he remembered the red-haired family, and turned to see them gathering together.

"I must be going, Mother," Percy said, and Harry thought he sounded rather snobby. "The Prefects have two compartments to themselves, and I can't be late." He walked off, after a quick kiss from his mother.

Fred raised his eyebrow. "I didn't know Percy was a Prefect," he remarked.

"Me neither," the other said.

"Hang on. There was that thing he polished every second minute."

"Yeah, that might have been a Prefect badge."

"Probably not, though."

"True; only a real prat would do something like that."

"You boys leave your brother alone. If you were half as good as him I'd be proud," their mother reprimanded. The twins both put on a look of mock discontent. Their mother gave another sigh.

"Hurry up; the train will be leaving any minute now, go on!"

The twins said goodbye and jogged over to the train. Harry looked quickly over where he had seen Draco, but he was gone. Then, not wanting to miss the train, quickly got on it himself. All of the first carriages were full, but eventually he found an empty one near the back of the train. He tried and failed to haul his trunk onto the overhead rail. He had another go; no luck. Then the twins noticed he was having trouble and offered to help.

"We're always here to help first-years in need!" one crowed heroically.

"Besides, it's no problem for these big guns!" he pulled back sleeves and showed off his muscles.

"I don't see anything," said his brother, squinting at his arm. His brother responded by pushing him and proceeded to help Harry with his luggage. With much huffing and hauling, he failed to even pick it up.

"I think I'll need some help, George," he panted, looking over his shoulder. Working together with Harry, they eventually managed to put in on top of the shelf.

"So, if you need any help getting it down again after," Fred said, still recovering from the effort.

"Go get someone else," George pleaded.

"_Please."_

Harry nodded understandably. "Okay, thankyou."

They were about to leave, when George looked back again. He looked closely at Harry, and Harry felt his insides squirm.

"Hey . . ." George said, his gaze not wavering. "What was your name again?"

"H-Harry Potter," Harry said nervously.

"Seriously?" Fred exclaimed, stepping closer.

"Yeah," Harry muttered.

"_Cool!"_ There was a slight hesitation, then; "Can we see your scar?"

Harry pushed his hair back and showed them.

"Merlin's beard!" George exclaimed.

"Wicked!"

Grinning hugely, they quickly walked off.

A few minutes later, Harry was just getting comfortable when Ron came in. "Do you mind if I sit here? There isn't room anywhere else."

"Sure."

Ron sat down opposite him and put his trunk on the seat next to him. "What's your name?" he asked casually.

"I'm Harry Potter."

Ron's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"_Really?_ I mean, Fred and George said you were but I thought it might have been just one of their jokes.

"I'm Ron Weasley, by the way."

And from there, Harry realised that he had made a new friend, and was filled with a burst of ecstasy. He gave a great smile, and he and Ron continued talking. Apparantly, ron had a huge family, all of which were wizards (except for a second cousin, who wasn't often mentioned). They both seemed as interested in each other's lives; Ron could not believe how Muggles got about without magic, and Harry was hungry for as many stories about magic as he could.

Before they knew it, an old lady was coming around with a trolley for mid-afternoon snacks. Harry, with a pocket full of wizard money, couldn't wait to buy all the food that was on offer, for he hadn't thought to bring his own lunch, and he had never had any money to buy any food before. But when he reached the trolley, he didn't recognise any of the things on offer. But there was something he recognised.

"Draco!" he cried happily, recognising him instantly. Malfoy jerked his head up and smiled.

"Hey," he said. He approached the lady and purchased some chocolate frogs.

"Did you want to come sit with us?" Harry asked as Malfoy turned to leave.

"Okay," Draco replied. Harry, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new tastes, brought a lot of everything and had to get Draco to help carry it back to their compartment. Draco stopped in the entrance when he saw who else was in there.

"A Weasley?" he asked incredulously. "My father said that they're a filthy family of wizards that disgrace all purebloods. You want me to sit with _him?" _Malfoy looked repulsed by the idea.

"Hey!" Ron yelled, standing up in anger. "_My_ father said the Malfoys were a big bunch of snobs that don't give a damn about anyone else 'cos they think they're better than them!"

Harry was taken aback by the sudden outbursts. "Calm down, both of you; what's wrong?"

"The Malfoy family are nothing but a bunch of Dungbombs!" Ron snapped.

"I don't want to be in the same carriage as _him_," Malfoy scowled.

"_Why not?"_ Harry was getting frustrated. Why were they acting like this?

"I'm not so undignified as to hang out with a Weasley!" Draco growled.

"What's wrong with Ron?" Harry asked, doing his best to keep peace whilst trying to keep Ron from throwing himself at Draco.

"Because," Draco said. "The Weasleys are the lowliest of wizards and I shan't be seen with them."

"If you haven't met the Wealsey's before today, how do you know?"

"Because my father said so!"

"Well, Draco, I think you should find out for yourself, don't you? If your father was wrong about Slytherin he can be wrong about the Weasley's too. Make your own decisions and judgements, Draco! And you start that by apologising. Both of you."

Glaring and snarling at each other, Harry finally managed to get an apology out of them. But the air was still thick with tension, and Harry could tell they were both still itching for a fight. He tried his best to get them talking to each other, more than mutterings through clenched teeth, but eventually he gave up. It seemed it would take more than his pleadings to get them to be friends.

A couple of hours later, the train had pulled up to Hogsmeade. Ron, Draco and Harry had all put on their robes and were pushing their way through the crowd to get out of the train and onto the actual station. The first thing that Harry noticed was that Hagrid was there, calling out in his booming voice for the first years to gather around him. He was easily noticed, head and shoulders above the tallest of the students swarming around the station.

"Hi, Hagrid," Harry said as he approached.

"Firs' years! Firs' years come over here! Hey, Harry," Hagrid said.

It took a few minutes for all the first years to congregate, and then Hagrid led them off the station and down a path. Most of the first years were talking, one more than most. A girl with wild, brown, bushy hair was whispering extremely fast to whoever would listen about whatever she could think of. Harry wasn't really listening. He was too excited.

They had been walking for almost ten minutes when Hagrid said, "Get ready, you lot; you're abou' to see yer first glance o' Hogwarts."

And as they turned a corner the whole group gasped in wonder. Beyond a small lake was a towering castle, lit up internally by a bright flickering light. And at that moment, Harry knew that, no matter where he had been the past ten years of his life, now, finally, he was home.


	11. Chapter 11: Ravenclaw

Chapter 11

Ravenclaw

There was a small group of boats on the shore of the lake, which Hagrid led the group of first-years to. "Three to a boat," he said as they neared. Harry, Ron and Draco took one, but Harry was forced to sit between them in order to stop them snapping at each other. "Come on," he sighed. "Just lay off each other for a sec. Look! We're almost at Hogwarts!" The boats then started to move by themselves, gliding silently across the lake, towards the school. The students waited with baited breath as they came closer and closer toward the school. As they reached it they passed into a tunnel underneath the school, which would have been pitch-black if it wasn't for the torches hanging in brackets every couple of metres. They continued for several minutes until they finally reached ground again, and everyone clambered out. They waited for Hagrid to show them the way and moved on up a flight of stairs, getting brighter the higher up they went. Eventually they reached through to the surface, and were standing in front of the massive doors that led into Hogwarts' entrance hall. Hagrid pushed the door open and they crowded inside.

The entrance hall was huge. The ceiling was lost in shadows. To the right was another large set of doors, and from it there was the large gabble of lots of people talking at once. To the left was a darker passageway that led down, and at the other end of the hall – almost too far away to see properly – was a large flight of stairs that led to everywhere else in the castle.

Hagrid led them to the door to the right, but instead of going through the large doors that led to the racket, they entered a smaller door beside it and went down yet another passageway that lead to a small room, with nothing but two torches, and a door leading to the Great Hall. Hagrid went through it and told them to wait there.

A talk started up within their small group, wondering what would happen next. "I heard there's some sort of test you have to do before they tell you what House you're in," a guy said. Harry's stomach dropped. A test? What about? He wasn't ready! He may have read all his books, but he had never done actual magic, and he was immediately certain that he wouldn't be able to do it, and that he would make a fool of himself in front of the entire school. He began to tremble. Harry looked to his side where Draco was standing. Draco was trying to look calm but not doing it very well.

"What do you think?" Harry asked, thinking he ought to try cheer up Draco, despite the fact his own heart was hammering so hard it was threatening to burst out of his chest.

"About what?" Draco asked, starting a little before turning to Harry.

"Have you decided what House you want to be in yet?" The moment the words were out of Harry's mouth he knew they weren't going to help Draco. Draco paled even further, and his face took on a slight green colour.

"I-I don't know. I-I I think I have to go in Slytherin. It's what Father wants of me."

"Yeah, because you always do what your _father _says, daddy's boy?" Ron sneered.

"Leave me alone, filthy blood-traitor," Malfoy muttered under his breath.

Harry left them too it, and went back to worrying about the Sorting. He didn't have long, however, before a strict-looking witch wearing black robes lined with red and gold and glasses came into the small room and addressed them.

"Would everybody look this way please? Thankyou. I am Professor McGonagall and I am here to lead you into the Great Hall, to your Sorting ceremony. You will gather in front of the teachers' table and there I will call your names one by one and you will come up to be sorted."

At these words Harry was greeted with yet another burst of nerves. He wasn't the only one though; groans echoed across the small room even before Professor McGonagall had finished speaking. She turned and left through the door she had come through and, reluctantly, the first years began to follow.

The room they entered was enormous, with hundreds of other students sitting on four tables spread adjacently across the room. In front of them was what was no doubt the teachers' table, and to prove the fact McGonagall started heading towards it. They headed toward the centre of the room, in between two of the tables and facing the teachers' table. They all looked up at the table anxiously. There were around fifteen or so adults standing there, including Hagrid, taking up over twice as much space as everyone else. Harry felt a little better when he saw him.

Presently, Professor McGonagall was walking up the few steps to the teachers' table, and then turning around and moving a stool with what looked like a pile of cloth on top where everyone could see it.

_So what's the test? _Harry wondered. _Do we have to make a robe with magic, like in Madam Malkin's shop?_ But, now that he looked closer . . . yes! The pile of cloth was actually an incredibly old and battered wizard's hat that looked even older than him. As he watched, the hat started _moving_. The hat stretched up straight, looked around, and then a voice emanated from it:

_Welcome, first years, feel right at home,_

_To the best magic school ever known._

_But you may wonder, how did it start?_

_Four wise mages played their part._

_Godric Griffindor, strong and brave,_

_Good and true and well-behaved;_

_Salazar Slytherin, calm and cool,_

_Doesn't stand for any fools;_

_Helga Huffelpuff, with her strong pride_

_Cares most for what's on the inside;_

_Rowena Ravenclaw was very wise_

_Could easily see through any lies._

_They raised this school from the ground_

_Houses in their name they found._

_So if you feel you share some traits_

_I will help you find your fate._

_So come on now you have a date_

_With the smartest hat you will find_

_I'll take a look inside your mind._

_I'll decide where you belong;_

_It won't take long!_

With that the hat's song concluded, but Harry still felt a little confused. The hat would choose where we would go? Harry felt giddy with relief, but it wasn't long before he started getting nervous again; what if the hat put him in a house he didn't want to be in? Harry closed his eyes and attempted deep breaths, but Professor McGonagall had started calling up students and was going through them swiftly. How dearly Harry wished that his last name began with a Z.

All too soon, his name was called. Feeling considerably green, Harry tottered forward, sat on the stool and felt the hat get placed on his head. He heard small mumblings in his ear from the hat, "Hmm . . . complicated . . . so many similarities . . . should it be Slytherin? Hmm . . ."

Harry's eyes widened, and immediately shook his head. All he had heard of Slytherin, and that's were he was going to be placed? _No!_ he thought furiously. _Anywhere but Slytherin! Please!_

"Oh?" came the Hat's reply. "Are you sure? You seem so similar . . . to _him; _Salazar."

_How would you know?_ Harry thought his reply.

"Even I am much older than I look. I belonged to the founders, once, over a thousand years ago. No-one but me can properly choose where each individual should go. But we're getting off track. I've decided what house you should go in." There was a slight pause, building the suspense, and then . . .

"RAVENCLAW!"


	12. Chapter 12: Settling In

Chapter 12: Settling In

"RAVENCLAW!"

Ron heard the cry and his stomach dropped a few inches. He had wanted to stick with Harry; he was the only friend he had made so far and he would put up with Malfoy, the son of the one his father had constantly complained about at work, and who always insulted the whole family when they met out of work, if it meant staying with Harry.

But the rest of his family was in Griffindor, and he had wanted to go there as well. Also he had more of a chance of shaking of Malfoy in Griffindor, because he doubted that pond scum would manage five minutes in a House where they celebrating goodness and niceness instead of stuck-up snob-ness. But in Ravenclaw they celebrated intelligence, according to the Sorting Hat's song, so Ron doubted Malfoy could last there either. The only House he suited was Slytherin, and proof was that he was already getting cosy with some other first-year Slytherins over on their table. Now the only question was where _he_ would go. _Well, _he thought, _I'll be the first Weasley in history to be in Ravenclaw, so I might have a clean slate there; more of a chance to make my mark. Merlin's beard, I don't know what to do!_ He was very thankful that his name began with a W, and from the looks of it he would be the last to have to try on the Hat. But unfortunately there were already worryingly few people waiting for their turn. Ron took a deep breath and decided that he would be just as happy in either Griffindor or Ravenclaw and that he would just let the Sorting Hat decide for him.

All too soon, only he and one other person were left.

"Weasley, Ronald," Professor McGonagall called. Ron felt a wave of anxiety crash over him and suddenly it seemed difficult to walk in a straight line, and the whole thing seemed a bit surreal. Ron reached the stool and almost felt relieved to feel something solid underneath him. The Hat was placed on his head, and it fell down to his nose. Then, to Ron's amazement, the Hat started _talking_, muttering in his ear.

"Another Weasley, eh? I'd say you'd be my fifth, not including your father or his ancestors of course."

_What the hell?_ Ron wondered. _How old are you?_

"Young, compared to the age of life, but older than you can imagine in comparison to you," was the Sorting Hat's reply.

_O . . . kay. So could you just tell me what House I'm in?_

"Hasty, are we? I can hardly blame you, but keep in mind you aren't the only one who has had to choose between family and friends."

The Hat's mystic talk was starting to annoy Ron, and maybe the Hat sensed it, because the next word said was, "RAVENCLAW!"

With the words Ron felt a both a pang of relief and sadness. He took off the hat and walked over to where Harry was sitting. _I see my family all the time_ he thought determinedly. _And this is _Harry Potter_! _The rest of the school seemed to have the same thought. Everyone was leaning over to try and get a glimpse of the famed Harry Potter. Many Ravenclaws were shaking his hand and greeting him cordially and trying to see his scar. While this was happening the last student, "Blaise Zabini" was sorted into Slytherin, and then the Sorting Hat was put away and Dumbledore got up to speak.

"Welcome, students, to another year of Hogwarts," he started. "Now, I realise that all of you must be hungry so I won't keep you from your delicious feast any longer than I have to. I only have a couple of words to say; Augurey, Erkling and Horklump. Congratulations to all who know what they are, and for those who don't, I recommend the book, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander. Thankyou."

There was a short pause, and in it was the chattering of a girl a few seats away explaining to whoever would listen what those three creatures were, and then chatter started up all over the Great Hall. Harry was slightly boggled by the Great Hall. The place was unbelievably huge, but it had to be to house the many students sitting at each table. The walls seemed to reach up to oblivion, before opening up to the night sky. Actually . . . straining his vision, Harry could faintly see the outlines of the rafters of the ceiling, though this only confused him further. The Hall was lit by hundreds of floating candles, casting yellow flickering light into every corner of the towering room. As Harry continued to look around, he noticed a teacher over at the staff table was looking at him.

The man's gaze lingered for no more than a second or two after Harry had spotted it, but he had still had time to recognise the expression; hate. This discouraged Harry somewhat, for he was certain that he had never met before, and if he was breaking a rule he didn't know it. Suddenly, the talk rose in volume, and Harry completed the rotation in his seat to face everyone on the table again. Only . . . the table, instead of harbouring merely hundreds upon hundreds of empty plates and goblets, now was brimming with the most mouth-watering food Harry had seen in his life. He stared greedily at it. Ron, next to him, he already tucked in to the delicious food. A broad grin stretched across Harry's face, and he started helping himself to whatever he could reach.

After a while, when Harry finally slowed down, he started to talk to the people around him. The girl on his opposite side was particularly intresting to talk to, because she apparenty was a pure-blood, and knew a great deal of things that Harry thought were nigh on unbelievable. Doubtlessly he could have gotten the same information as Ron, but he was too busy stuffing his face for Harry to talk to, so he turned to the girl, with light brown, curly hair that reached her chest with a friendly smile.

"So there are such things as ghosts, then?" Harry asked.

"Of course!" The girl replied. "There are even some in this castle. There is a ghost that represents each House. The Grey Lady is the one for Ravenclaw. Then there's the Fat Friar for Hufflepuff. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington for Gryffindor –"

"You mean Nearly-Headless-Nick," Ron interrupted suddenly. "My brothers told me about him."

"Did they also tell you," said a voice from behind them. "That I prefer to be referred as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, or at least Sir Nicholas."

Ron gave a start, before turning around, grinning sheepishly. "Shouldn't you be at your own table?" he asked innocently, absentmindedly chewing on a stripped-bare bone. Sir Nick's expression darkened further.

"Yes, well, I was not being treated with any respect, so I came over here for some more civil company, which Ms Clearwater never fails to bring me."

Clearwater – the one Harry was talking to – smiled kindly at Nick. "Greetings, Sir Nicholas, I'm delighted you've decided to join us here at the Ravenclaw table," she said, with an odd, formal tone. "But I think you should be getting back to your own House, even if their attitude toward you is rather vulgar."

"You are right, of course. If I do not then the Bloody Baron will no doubt make me pay for 'disloyalty' later. Farewell, Ms Clearwater, and farewell . . . " his voice faded off enquiringly as he looked at Harry and Ron.

"Harry," Harry explained.

"Mm Ron," said Ron, with his mouth full. Failing to hide a look of faint disgust, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington glided away.

"Yes, he's the Griffindor ghost," said Clearwater, her voice back to normal but sounding ever so slightly disapproving. "And Slytherin's is the Bloody Baron. You'll want to keep away from him."

Harry's eyes flicked to the ghost over at the Slytherin table, where the Bloody Baron was laughing uproariously, brandishing a sword and wearing clothes that seemed specked with blood. He had to agree with Clearwater.

At long last, the feast was finished, and Dumbledore stood up again to speak.

"I will start by introducing our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Timenown."

Albus gestured at a man sitting behind him to the left on the staff table. He was tall and skinny, with soft black hair that went down to his shoulder blades, tied back with a black cloth. His clothers were baggy, and he looked quite young, despite the heavy shadows under his eyes. He tried his best to put on a cheerful face as the students applauded him but it was clear that what he would really like to do was sleep.

Albus held up his hands to stop the applause and he went on. "Also, I have a few notes from Filch, reminding you not to perform magic outside of class, our without permission and supervision from a teacher, to remember to keep your feet and clothes clean so that he does not need to clean up after yourselves. Also remember that damage to school property – whether or not it is intended – is not tolerated and will be punished severely. Also severely punished is being out of the common room at night, as there should be plenty space to do all your plotting and uncleanliness inside the common room, and there is no reason to be out at night, because it is bad enough to see you during the day. And the Forbidden Forest is completely out of bounds, hence its name, and this rule is for your own safety, to protect your snotty little faces from being ruined by the many horrors which dwell in the Forest . . ." This went on for rather a long while, until finally ending with . . . "And a note specifically for Peeves; 'I am sick and tired of you endlessly breaking all the rules that have just been mentioned and one more rumour of misbehaviour from you and I will personally make sure that your face will never be seen in Hogwarts' halls ever again'.

"I hope you will please pay attention to these rules as you go about your business this year," Dumbledore concluded. "Next on the agenda, is a stern warning to all that the third floor corridor is forbidden until further notice and anyone caught breaking in will immediately be expelled, if they have not already been lost to what is within." Several glances were exchanged at this comment; what could possibly be so dangerous and so prohibited as to have such consequences? But Dumbledore continued cheerily. "Other than that, I can think of nothing more that needs mentioning, so; Prefects, will you please lead your Houses to their dormitories, and to all I bid you goodnight and good luck to the following year."

With those final words, a few people from each table stood up – undoubtedly the Prefects – and started calling to form an orderly line, and started leading the way out of the Great Hall.

Ten minutes later, Ron and Harry had followed the Prefects up many flights of stairs to Ravenclaw Tower, where an exquisite painting of a silver phoenix taking flight from light-blue flames into a starry sky. There a Prefect had told them the password – "Neana Tempus" – and they had entered the common room. By then Harry had been too tired to take in any detail but simply followed the Prefect's words up yet another flight of stairs and into the first-years' dormitory. Dimly noting that his trunk and Silver were already next to a bed waiting for him, he collapsed onto the respective bed and was instantly asleep, along with his fellows.

Draco was awake.

He had tried for hours to get to sleep but it would not come. All was silent except for the faint drip-dripping from a leaky ceiling in the common room. It was cold down here, in what must have been the deepest dungeon in Hogwarts. Draco frowned, and rolled onto his side. Why was the common room in a dungeon anyway? Surely that was at least a little bit prejudiced? He heaved a sigh and flopped again onto his back. He was by now convinced that he had made the wrong decision about what house he should be in, but the Sorting Hat had been put on his head, and he had panicked and gone to default; do what Father says. And so he was Sorted into Slytherin. He had regretted it almost as soon as the decision was made, as soon as it was too late. But at least Father would be happy. Draco's eyes misted over as his mind wandered back to when he was being Sorted, the short conversation the Hat had had with him.

"_Ah, complicated thoughts for a complicated mind. What a decision you have on you; you must decide between what you want, and what your father wants. Between your family and friends. Between making your own destiny, or following the one your father chose for you . . ."_

Shut up! _He had snapped. _What would you know? You're just a stupid hat!

"_Hush . . . I am giving you advice. Your choice is between family and friend, and generally the answer is clear, but for you family does not stand for much. So what is your decision?"_

You're asking me? It's your job; you do it! _Malfoy had replied angrily. _

"_Fine," the Sorting Hat replied, with an annoyed tone. "As long as you continue to be afraid of change, your fate is inevitable. SLYTHERIN!"_

And ever since those words all that had been on Draco's mind was change.

**NOTE*** Timenown is pronounced Tim – e – known. Thankyou!


	13. Chapter 13: Day 1 Harry

Chapter 13: Day 1 – Harry

The morning dawned clear and bright and the first thing Harry did was look around at his room-mates. Besides he and Ron, there were three other boys in their dormitory, but two were hidden by brilliant, dark-blue curtains. The one that was visible was rather plump, with sandy-coloured hair, sleeping on top of the covers with a hand covering his face. Harry turned to look out the window next to his bed. It must have been facing to the east, because Harry saw the sun rising behind the Forbidden Forest, lighting it up as much as was possible. Silver squawked to get Harry's attention, and he turned to her. He let her out of her cage and she immediately swooped out, transforming to Dusk and fell on top of Harry's chest, knocking him back onto his soft bed. Harry examined the creature happily. He ran a finger along its beautiful, charcoal-black fur, frowning a little at her unnatural thinness. He wondered if it was supposed to like that. His fingers reached its wing joints, and they stuck out horribly, and the webbing between each elongated finger seemed too thin to be able to hold up the horse-like creature. "Are you eating okay?" he asked in a worried tone. Dusk shook her head roughly, backing out of Harry's arm reach, jumping easily the distance from there to the end of the bed. She seemed healthy enough, but Harry decided to take her to Hagrid after his lessons had finished. Yawning, Harry but Dusk back into her cage, and she promptly became Silver again. _She doesn't look skinny in this form_ Harry thought, leaning over to Ron's bed to wake him up.

"Wassup?" Ron slurred sleepily, sitting up and yawning loudly.

"I'm not too sure what we should be doing," Harry said.  
"Didn't you hear the Prefect last night?" Ron asked. "We're supposed to go to the Great Hall, and we'll get our timetables and stuff there."

"Um, okay," said Harry, who had heard no such thing. "Let's go."

They walked out of their dormitory and down the stairs to the common room. Though Harry hadn't noticed last night, the common room was lavishly furnished, with a rich rug underfoot, with the darkest shade of blue, with veins of silver string sewn into the lovely fabric. The ceiling was domed and, like the Great Hall last night, was painted with a beautiful picture of the night sky. There were several comfy-looking lounge chairs, a few of which were occupied with other Ravenclaw students, and one wall was lined with bookcases and next to the stairs Harry and Ron had just descended was a tall statue made from marble of who could be none other than Rowena Ravenclaw.

They crossed the common room and went through the portrait, which opened smoothly at their approach. As they exited Harry turned back to admire the beauty of the phoenix in the painting. It cooed to him softly before disappearing from view as they went down the spiral staircase down Ravenclaw Tower. Harry looked out the windows they passed as they descended. They were really high up, and a fog prevented Harry from seeing the grounds in too much detail. But he did see a giant lake on one side, bordered by what must have been the Forbidden Forest, which seemed to stretch around most of the grounds.

They reached the base of the tower and continued towards the Great Hall, not talking much, being more contented to just look around as they went through the castle. They were greeted by several paintings as they passed through corridors, always heading down, but they never did more than smile in reply. The way to the Great Hall seemed to be taking a lot longer than it had taken to get to Ravenclaw Tower last night . . .

"You do know where we're going, don't you?" Harry asked cautiously. Ron turned to stare at him.

"What? I was following you!" Ron cried, with a slight undertone of panic.

"Uh oh . . ." Harry muttered. "Well . . . the Great Hall is on the ground floor, right next to the entrance. I think the only way to go further down than that is that corridor opposite the Great Hall. So we should just keep going down, and forwards, and we should get there, right?"

Ron looked uncertain, gnawing his lip anxiously. "Uh . . . sure . . ."

They continued down, getting increasingly worried as the minutes ticked by. But, fortunately, after what must've been at least ten minutes, they reached the wonderfully familiar sight of the Entrance Hall. They crossed over to the Great Hall to find it already crowded with the rest of the students. Harry and Ron found a place on the Ravenclaw table next to a group of older students, who promptly turned to stare at Harry.

"Hello," the closest said, sticking out a hand in Harry's direction (completely ignoring Ron, causing him to frown indignantly). "I'm Vanessa Tarner. Pleased to meet you, Harry Potter."

"Um, hi," Harry said, shaking the girl's hand, and suddenly remembering he was famous. "This is my friend, Ron." He'd noticed Ron's irritation.

"Hi there," Vanessa turned to him. Ron's ears turned red, mumbled something and gave his attention to his porridge. They were momentarily distracted by Professor Flitwick, as he introduced himself - with a high-pitched voice when he turned to Harry – when he came around, giving out timetables. Ron looked at it and read the timetable aloud.

"Charms first – oh, we've got Flitwick for that. Then Transfiguration, then lunch, then Potions. Bit of spare time . . . dinner . . . more spare time and sleep. Doesn't sound too bad, hey Harry?"

"Guess not," Harry said, engrossed by his own timetable. Over the week, they seemed to have the same seven subjects. Charms, Transfigurations, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Astronomy, and Herbology. He put the timetable into his bag, after memorising where Charms and Transfiguration were. People started to leave, and Harry quickly finished his toast.

"C'mon," he said, pulling Ron to his feet. "We should probably go."

"Nah, wait for Professor Flitwick; we can follow him to our class. Lemme finish my porridge." He sat back down and dug into his bowl. Harry kept standing, scanning the crowd for the tiny Professor Flitwick. Harry found him on the other side of the table, a couple of Slytherins ghost walking him.

"'Kay, we can go now," Ron said, getting to his feet and shovelling the last of his porridge into his mouth at the same time. He took several steps back, then lead the way to Professor Flitwick, who had by now reached the door, and was catching on to what the Slytherins were doing behind them. Flitwick was just telling off the Slytherins in question when Ron and Harry caught up to him. When Professor Flitwick moved on they followed him surreptitiously up several flights of stairs, drifting always to the east side of the castle. Finally they reached the classroom, and filtered in with the rest of the class. Harry and Ron chose seats near the front, the former eager to see as much magic as possible. Harry was, however, disappointed. The class started by Professor Flitwick calling the role. During this time, Harry took note of his fellow Ravenclaws' names;

_Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, Luna Lovegood, Padma Patill, Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst ._

And then the lesson commenced, made up of merely a theoretic introduction into Charms, where the liveliest thing that happened was Professor Flitwick had levitated a toad over to a plump boy at the back of the class, when the toad had hopped up onto the book Professor Flitwick had been reading from. Harry sank vaguely into a miasma of boredom, listening with half an ear to what the Professor was saying.

Finally, the lesson finished. The class clambered to the exit, eager to get to their next class, hopeful that it would be better than this. Harry and Ron were with them, shoving their way through the crowd, which was steadily increasing in volume as other classes entered the hallway too.

It took them around five minutes to reach their next class; a silent triumph for both of them, considering the trouble they'd had already, and only capable by temporarily ignoring pride and asking other students and portraits whenever they could.

Professor McGonagall, the teacher for Transfiguration, clicked her tongue slightly in annoyance as they walked in, their first thought being how everyone else had managed to get there so quickly. But she merely gestured at a desk for them to sit, and started her class.

This one started off rather more interesting, McGonagall transfiguring several objects into several animals, and back again, but after that it followed along the lines of Professor Flitwick's class. The class finished with Ron and Harry uttering a great sigh of relief.

"I can't _believe _she gave us homework on the first day," Ron complained, as they sat down to lunch. "How could she have expected us to be paying attention? Pretty disappointing for a first day, too. I thought there'd be more _magic_ involved, but no, why would they do that?"

Harry nodded vaguely. He was already exhausted from the previous two classes had been exhausting, and his brain felt stretched to its greatest capacity. He was not looking forward to his next class, unless it turned out to be something fun, which Harry doubted, if it was going to be anything like Charms and Transfiguration. As it turned out, it was much worse.

The Potions class was deep down in the dungeons which, Harry thought, was probably not a good omen. He had also noticed that they were sharing the class with the Slytherins, which, though Ron had been bitterly complaining about it after he'd finished complaining about the miserable classes they'd had earlier, meant Harry could talk to Draco for the first time since the Hogwarts train.

Harry spotted Draco waiting outside the class, talking to two other guys who looked like they'd spent the majority of their lives beforehand eating, bench-pressing 200 and mugging old ladies at dusk.

Harry approached Draco with slight caution; he didn't like the idea of being on the bad side of the two thugs of either side of him. "Hey," he said casually, smiling at Draco.

And then Draco recoiled, his eyes wide with panic, and warning. The other guys stepped in front of him, flexing their fingers threateningly. "What do you want?" the taller of the two growled, in a voice so low Harry could barely hear it.

Draco stepped forward, looking as uncertain as it was possible to be. "Harry," he acknowledged curtly. "This is Crabbe–" he gestured to the tall one. "-and Goyle. They're in Slytherin . . . with me." His eyes seemed to be trying to tell him something, but Harry didn't know what it was. Harry opened his mouth to continue talking, but at that moment the teacher arrived. Professor Snape. Harry turned as the Professor took out his keys to unlock the classroom, and as he did, he caught Snape's eye, and his own widened in shock. What had been in his eyes . . . _that _Harry could understand.

Pure, undefined, inexplicable, _loathing._

Harry took a small step back in shock. Ron stepped into place by his side, and they entered the cold, mouldy classroom along with the rest of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. They took a seat in the middle of the classroom, in front of a rusty cauldron, and started taking out their Potion ingredients.

Like Flitwick, Snape started the lesson by calling the role.

"Anthony Goldstein?"

"Yep."

"Harry Potter? . . . Oh yes, the one famous for living to the age of ten."

Harry felt his face flush with indignation. One, he was _eleven_; get it right. Two, why would Snape make fun of him being famous? Being famous was _good, _wasn't it?

"I'm sorry, sir, for getting rid of the one who caused everyone to live in fear for ten years."

At these words, Snape abandoned the role and loped right up the table where Harry and Ron were sitting, spreading his hands out on the table so that he could put his face right up close to Harry's.

"Arrogant and snide, as well, it seems," he spat. "That comment will cost you ten points from Ravenclaw, Potter."

_What?_ Harry failed to see the fairness in this, but Ron stomped his foot under the desk and he kept quiet.

Unfortunately, the rest of the lesson continued in this manner; Snape hovering over the side of the class that the Ravenclaws had instinctively gathered, making angry comments whenever one of them made a mistake, when over on the Slytherin side one of their cauldrons was producing a large quantity of bright purple smoke, while at the same time emitting a loud hissing sound.

They were more grateful then ever when the bell went and they were dismissed from class. The group went immediately to dinner, and then continued to the common room.

Harry went immediately to his dorm and flung himself on his bed, despite the time and the fact that Snape and McGonagall had given homework for them to do. He glanced at Silver and vaguely remembered that he had meant to go to Hagrid's about her. _Whatever_, Harry thought, turning on his side. _I'll do it later._

Harry tried getting to sleep, but it was simply too early for him to be able to. So, as the sun started slowly to set, Harry contemplated the events of the day.

It had been nothing like he had expected, and that wasn't a good thing. He had thought that being in a wizard's school would be endless fun, learning how to cast awesome sparks from the ends of their wands, but there was a lot more to it than that, and Harry wasn't sure if he was looking forward to the next day or not. _It ought to be better, _Harry thought, in an attempt to assure himself. _If not, it might even be better at Uncle Vernon's – actually no; nothing could be that bad._

And then there was Draco. What had made him act that way?

The more Harry thought about it, the angrier he got. Harry had done nothing to Draco but try to be friends, and it had been _Draco_ who wanted to be friends in the first place, so what right had he to suddenly act like that?

Harry took a deep breath and forced himself to make his mind blank, and closed his eyes, and slept.


End file.
